It's been a big year for Avoya Travel. In June, private equity firm Certares purchased the Anderson family's stake in the agency, No. 37 on Travel Weekly's Power List. In August, Frosch's Marc Kazlauskas became Avoya's CEO. Capping off the year with another big announcement, earlier this month Norwegian Cruise Line named Kazlauskas its president. When he departs in mid-January, Avoya chief sales officer Phil Cappelli will take the reins as CEO. Senior editor Jamie Biesiada spoke with Cappelli about technology, growth in noncruise sales and what the future holds for Avoya's independent advisor affiliates.
Phil Cappelli
Q: Kazlauskas was CEO for a short time, but on a media call in October you announced some significant achievements that happened under his term, including major increases in river cruise, escorted tour and air sales. What are your thoughts on his tenure?
A: What was critically important was the transition from our prior ownership to full ownership by Certares. It was extremely helpful to have Marc come in during that transition period and work closely with the leadership team. In a relatively short period of time, four to five months, we were able to accomplish a great deal, including setting a clear strategic direction and establishing what we now define as our three pillars: culture, growth, and technology.
Q: Tell me more about the pillars.
A: When I think about culture, I think about the Avoya staff, making sure that we're all singing from the same hymnal, if you will, and that we're feeling good about what we're doing for our partners, for our network, for ourselves.
Growth is continuing to be the best in the business and growing leads, making sure we're marketing and doing what we need to do to grow leads. What that means is partnering with all of our suppliers and making sure that we're the best and we continue to be the best.
Avoya is 60 years old, but we're like a startup. We've got the backing of a private equity group, which is, like, the biggest in the travel space, which is amazing. When you think about what we provide for people -- the technology, the leads, the support, the events -- it really is an amazing place to be. For somebody who's serious about being an advisor, this is the place for you.
Q: What about technology specifically?
A: We're accelerating the technology enhancement. It's improving the user experience -- that's actually 100% key in what we're doing. We're going to spend a lot on technology to make sure that we continue to have the best systems in the industry. Obviously, AI is the buzzword out there, but we're taking it seriously. We do a lot in AI already.
Q: Will you continue your focus on noncruise sales?
A: One hundred percent. It's so important to the growth of our network and to the independent advisors. We've had a big focus on air, and that attachment to vacations and to holidays is so critical. Our land business is pretty big. I mean, we've always been known as a monster cruise seller, but what we're doing in land, suppliers are starting to take notice because we've made a big push there. And then, luxury. We're going to continue pushing toward luxury. Not only in cruise -- we've always been one of the best in luxury and cruise, selling the highest levels, Regent, Silversea, Oceania, always top five with those companies. You'll see us make a big push into luxury hotels.
Q: Will things be business as usual for your independent advisors going forward?
A: New programs are coming to make the experience better for the advisor: the experience and the compensation structure, with new incentive programs, with the opportunity for them to make additional money.